Valerian Auberon Helios Malfoy
September 1st 1991
“I wish he’d come with me….”
“I wish so too, darling. But I’m sure he would’ve been happy to see you off.”
A single tear fell down a pale face, and three people stood huddled together staring at the sleeping body of a small boy….
The British Wizarding World as a whole thought that the Vigilant and Most Ancient House of Malfoy was always happy due to their riches and political power, but they couldn’t have been farther from the truth.
The House of Malfoy was miserable, and it was all due to one member. Or rather, one member’s absence.
Valerian Auberon Helios Black-Malfoy. The older brother of Draconis Aurelius Lucius Black-Malfoy. The eldest son of Lucius Abraxas Malfoy and Narcissa Celine Black-Malfoy – which made him the Heir to the Vigilant and Most Ancient House of Malfoy – was born on the 15th of June 1979. Valerian had been a happy but wise child, with knowledge of the world way above his age, even at one years old. His maturity had surprised his parents, but they’d believed they had a genius in their family, proud as they were of his calmness and intelligence. When Draco had been born, Valerian’s maturity had transformed to include extreme protectiveness towards his baby brother.
They’d been a happy family of four, even when the war had ended and Lucius had found himself in a precarious situation, he could get through all his misfortune to be with his sons and wife as he wished to be. And he did get out of his issues (even if he’d used somewhat illegal methods). After that, he became a big name politician and managed to double his family’s fortune in just three years, which he then used to spoil the three most important people in his life.
Their life was amazing, until disaster struck.
Valerian started getting sick out of nowhere, and every healer they went to told them they either didn’t know what he had, or that it was an incurable disease. Both types always gave them the same words – to make their time with their son count as it wouldn’t be long. Narcissa and Lucius hadn’t wanted to believe it, and got the boy the best healers in the world, but it was all to no avail. Draco, on the other hand, had been too young to understand why his brother kept getting tired after a short time playing, but he’d understand everything years later.
Because, unfortunately, the healers had been right. A month after Valerian’s tenth birthday, the boy fell asleep and never woke up. He wasn’t dead, the healers assured them of that much, but he was in an endless sleep with no chance of waking up. They were told to lose hope, but they couldn’t. The Malfoys called upon every connection they had, they even ventured into the muggle world (squashing their pride in the process) but none of their endeavours yielded any fruit.
And now, two years later, Draco Malfoy was preparing to head to Hogwarts, the school that was supposed to have already housed his elder brother before him, but their family wasn’t that lucky.
“I wish you were here Val.” Draco whispered as he clutched his brother’s hand, tears falling down his face and dropping onto the older boy’s hand. The boy hadn’t stopped growing or aging even though he wasn’t awake or aware to use his body (the Healers had told them that this was very unusual but there was no explanation for this phenomenon). He was currently around 5cm taller than Draco and his face had lost most of its baby fat, his cheekbones sharpening and his chin and jawline thinning slightly. The couple had made sure their son was still getting nutrition in any way, so they currently had him on an IV drip with a nutritional potion being injected into his body, so while his muscles might have deteriorated a bit, he was not losing weight.
The change was strange, but the Malfoys were just glad they could at least see their son physically ageing. He didn’t; however, look like the Malfoy Family at all, looking more like his mother’s side of the family, which was an interesting observation they’d made. He had raven black hair that – throughout the years of his coma – had grown to reach just above his shoulder and was wavy (unlike Lucius and Draco, who had straight platinum blond hair, just like most members of the House of Malfoy), he also had stormy grey eyes, which wasn’t a colour his father nor his mother had (his father had blue eyes while his mother’s eyes were more silvery blue than dark grey), but an eye colour he shared with his maternal grandfather, a member of the secondary line of the House of Black.
What they didn’t know, though, was that Valerian could hear everything. Ever since he’d fallen into the coma, he could hear all of what his family talked about around his body, and he could move around and roam, but not in physical form, in an astral or spiritual form as some magicals called it.
It was weird, Valerian felt like he’d lived the past two years with his parents and brother and even some of their regular visitors, but they could never see, hear or touch him. No one except Hadrian Black, who visited the manor very often. This was a very sad fact, and it made him feel very lonely most of the time, but at least he could overhear the things his parents had been hiding from him, or see the things his brother was hiding from their parents – like his powers. He could also read the books in the Malfoy library quite easily, as they had a magical signature which meant they had an aura to them that Valerian could touch, so he was more advanced than his peers could ever dream of being, as he hadn’t been held back; neither by a parent’s hesitance nor the limits put on the Hogwarts curriculum.
But after two years of this, Valerian was getting fed up with his half-life. He wanted to experience a normal life and see and do things that a twelve year old could do. He wanted to go to school and make friends and have fun. But he was stuck, like a ghost no one could see.
What the Malfoys didn’t know was that what had happened to Valerian had actually been pretty common among the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black, the house that Narcissa Black-Malfoy had been born into.
Because of the House’s overcharged and ancient Family Magicks, it sometimes manifested in the form of a sickness, one that weakened the body until it fell into a coma, where the member would be able to roam around as a spirit but not interact with people. The person stayed like this until their thirteenth birthday, when their magical cores would stabilize enough to be able to handle the amount of magical energy it had suddenly been bombarded with during the person’s first magical core maturity at age ten (a year before a magical would go to Hogwarts to start training this boosted core). This would especially happen to the most powerful members of the House of Black, and more commonly in the heir of the family, although it wasn’t necessary. The period of Astral Roaming – as it was known among the family members – would give them the time to learn everything they’d need to know to be able to control this powerful magical ability at their own pace, without the pressures of socializing or living to hinder their progress. In fact, during a certain period of the family’s history, the Heir had been chosen based on the fact that they’d gone through Astral Roaming, because this meant they were the most powerful in their generation, but this tradition has since been terminated.
However, because of the excessive inbreeding the family has been doing the past two centuries or so, this phenomenon had gotten less and less frequent as their members have lessened until it’d stopped happening completely during Sirius Black II’s reign as Lord Black. The knowledge as well had slowly become less known until it’d completely disappeared. It was sad and shameful, but they couldn’t grieve what they didn’t know existed, or at least that had been Sirius II’s thought process as he banned the knowledge from the family and hid it in the grimoire.
But now, it seems Valerian Malfoy was experiencing that same phenomenon, after two centuries of it completely disappearing, and that was why his family hadn’t know anything about what was going on with him.
December 12th 1991
Because of the state he was in, Valerian didn’t feel time going as slowly or rapidly as others did. He felt that it’d only been a month or so since his brother had been sent off to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, but he suddenly found his brother entering the library and throwing himself on one of the many couches in the room. Valerian did a double-take at the sight of his brother back from school, before he looked out the window at the snow falling in soft crystals and recognised that – without him even realising or feeling the change – Yule had arrived and that was why Draco was back from school, to celebrate the holiday with their parents and Valerian’s unresponsive body but roaming spirit.
“I’ve really screwed everything up, huh….” Val heard his brother sigh out, and tilted his head in confusion before his eyes widened in realisation. Ah, his brother had put his foot in his mouth and ruined any prospective new friendships outside the pureblood circle they’d both grown up in. It might also be that he’d messed up being friends with Harry Potter, a dream Draco had been striving to achieve since he’d heard the other boy’s famous story.
You may wonder how Valerian realised all this, but he’d become quite adept at reading his brother over the years he’d only had his observations and eavesdropping to keep him occupied and sane.
Valerian felt bad for the frustration and pain in his brother’s voice and eyes, but he also understood why someone like Harry Potter wouldn’t want to be friends with Draco; his brother was very arrogant and narcissistic from the spoiling he’d gotten after Valerian had succumbed to his illness (his parents had seen it as a way to make up for Valerian not being with them anymore, but Valerian thought it’d been an idiotic direction to take when raising a child, especially a child as… difficult as Draco had been).
As the boy got more and more agitated, Valerian noticed that the room started filling with a white mist, and as the couch Draco sat on started freezing over where he clutched at it, Draco’s eyes slowly shifted from their natural bluish grey colour to an icy blue that glowed in the low lighting of the library. But the boy didn’t seem to notice anything happening until he looked up, and his eyes widened in shock.
Valerian thought it was because he saw the mist and the ice slowly creeping up the walls, but he was proven wrong when one word suddenly left Draco’s mouth.
“Valie?” The childhood nickname seemed to slip out of his mouth without even realising it.
“Wait!” Valerian exclaimed in shock, “You can see me?”
“W-what…? You’re h-here?”
“Dragon. I need you to calm down.” Valerian said softly, moving to kneel before his brother, who just kept staring at him with eerie icy blue eyes. “I’m not dead. I’m just asleep, and my ‘aura’,” here Valerian made air quotes for the inaccurate term, “is still active and able to roam around as long as I stay in the manor near my body. I can read and sit with everyone, but nothing else really. I’ve been like this for two years, so I’m used to it and being invisible. You can see me now because you’re accidently using your Black ability.” Valerian explained softly and evenly, and it seemed to calm Draco down enough that he took a deep breath and his eyes started softening, but then they widened again.
“WAIT!” Draco’s shout should’ve easily attracted the attention of everyone in the manor, but fortunately, their parents were out and didn’t hear the commotion, “when I calm down, you start to disappear.”
“Oh, it’s because you’re calming down, so your ability is also relaxing; you’ll stop seeing me when you stop using it.” Valerian hypothesized, rubbing his chin a bit in thought.
“But I’m not….” It seemed that this was the moment Draco noticed that the room had been slowly turning into a giant icicle. His mouth opened in shock, and he looked around at the walls and chairs that had been turned to ice.
“I… I knew I could do it, but I didn’t think I could go so far….” The boy sighed out, staring at what he’d created in surprise.
“It gets heightened by strong emotions, both positive and negative. This happened because you were stressed and unable to cope properly.” Valerian explained, gesturing to the room around them.
“That…. I’m just glad you’re okay, Valie.” Draco said with a smile, but as he relaxed, his brother’s spirit started fading away again.
“NO!”
“You’ll have to learn to control your powers to see me again.” Valerian said, but his voice slowly faded as well, until Draco was on his own again.
“But how?! I can’t just ask Mother! Father would get suspicious, and I know he’d try to remove this ability because it’s not a Malfoy trait!” And as Draco panicked more, his powers slowly rose to the surface again. And his eyes that had returned to their natural molten silver colour flashed bright icy blue again just as he saw his brother’s spirit looking at him worriedly.
“Hey, hey…. You’re alright, Dray. Ask Haddie when he comes over, he’ll help you. You just need to calm down and be patient. And yes, I know you’re not the most patient person in the world, but please try. For me.” The two shared a laugh like this, and as Draco calmed down and his brother’s spirit slowly faded away, he didn’t panic as he had before because he knew what he needed to do now.
He had to talk to their cousin.
December 24th 1991
Hadrian didn’t come to the Manor until the twenty fourth, but Draco had kept in contact with him throughout the whole week, getting advice from him and implementing it in the hopes that he can see his brother at least once a day, an endeavour that hadn’t been as successful as he’d hoped, but he was at least doing something.
Hadrian’s arrival on Christmas Eve had been an uneventful one. He’d come with his Grandfather, who’d immediately joined Lucius and Narcissa for a political conversation, leaving Hadrian and Draco (and Valerian) alone. Draco immediately dragged Hadrian to his room, and stared at him intently.
“So? How do I control my powers fully?” Draco said impatiently, glaring slightly at his cousin, who sighed a bit at the boy’s attitude.
“It’s not that simple, Draco. The exercises you’ve been doing will help, but full control takes a bit more time and maturity. I’m sure you’ll be able to at least activate it willingly now, even if you still won’t be able to fully control where the ice goes or what it affects, much less thaw things yourself without a wand.”
“I don’t care about that now. I just want to see Vallie.”
“Try it then,” Hadrian encouraged with a small smile, “let’s see what you’ve got Mister Malfoy.”
Draco closed his eyes then and took a deep breath, concentrating on the power simmering, just out of his reach. As he slowly connected with it, he opened his eyes once more and found the spirit of his brother smiling proudly at him.
“Good job Draconis.” Two voices said at the same time, one coming from a physical source while the other was a more floating source. Draco grinned proudly nonetheless and stared at his brother, taking his appearance in like a thirsty man just finding water. He’d missed the older boy dearly, and couldn’t imagine the manor without him anymore.
“I should’ve told you this before, but I truly love you Vallie. You’re the best older brother someone could ask for.” Valerian’s eyes widened and filled with tears that they both knew wouldn’t fall, but still…. Draco hoped his sentiment helped ease any feelings his brother might have, whether of sadness or guilt.
“I love you too Dragon. I’d hug you but I’d go right through you.” The three boys laughed at the thought and then settled down to talk, Draco and Hadrian taking the time to catch Valerian on everything that’s happened at Hogwarts so far.
As Draco sat there and looked at his brother and cousin, he couldn’t help feeling a bit shocked at how similar the two looked colouring-wise. While Hadrian was known to have naturally half black and half platinum blonde hair (a phenomenon their family members had always wondered about), he loved dying his hair various colours and was currently sporting raven black hair (which meant he’d dyed the blonde half of his head to match the raven black part) that was the same as Valerian’s. The two also had similar dark grey eyes although Hadrian’s were a bit darker than Val’s; Valerian had more blue-tinted dark grey eyes (similar to pewter) while Hadrian’s were much darker with a brown undertone. The two’s facial features were also a bit different; Valerian’s face was a bit rounder than Hadrian’s but he had a sharper jawline, Hadrian also had more slanted eyes than Valerian.
It was also interesting to see the difference in the two’s fashion sense, even at age twelve. While Valerian was currently wearing a white shirt tucked into black trousers (which was what he was wearing when he’d fallen into his coma), Hadrian was wearing more casual clothes; a black t-shirt under a black jacket and black jeans. Draco wasn’t jealous necessarily, as he knew he shared a lot of traits with his brother, but it was still weird for him to have a cousin who looked more like his brother than Draco himself did.
As they were talking, Draco noticed the longing look that had embedded itself in his brother’s eyes, even though his smile hadn’t shifted one bit, but Draco and Valerian had always been able to read each other better than most.
“I’m sure you’ll wake up and join use soon Vallie. I can’t wait to show you Hogwarts.” Draco told his brother, giving him a warm smile that his brother, thankfully, returned.
“I hope so….” Valerian said with a wistful sigh.
July 15th 1992
Unfortunately, the holidays passed without any luck on Valerian’s part, and he found himself waving goodbye to a brother and cousin who couldn’t currently see him as he resigned himself to returning to his isolated and dreary life.
As a distraction, he decided to immerse himself in law books and bloodline books, trying to find out all the flaws in their justice system and where muggle-borns could come from simultaneously. It was a demanding task, but Valerian found himself enjoying the two differing topics.
Thus his days and nights continued, with a lot of research and reading and the occasional dinner spent listening to his parents’ conversations. Time seemed to fly by as he delved into his reading, and he didn’t notice that winter had shifted to spring and then to summer until he noticed his parents sitting beside his bed for a long period of time, something that his mother normally indulged in but his father found too painful a reminded of his perceived ‘failure’.
Leaving the library after weeks of self-inflicted imprisonment, he went to look for a calendar, and was shocked to find that it was his birthday….
Floating into his room, Valerian hovered between his parents, looking at them as they clutched at his hand and whispered to him.
“It’s your birthday today darling.” His mother whispered brokenly, “when are we going to celebrate it with you, hmm?”
“Your brother will be joining us in a week.” His father said softly, “He’s miserable but says he’s been distracting himself with studying for his exams and other extracurricular activities. You should’ve been there with him Valerian. I’m sorry I couldn’t do anything to help you.”
“Mother and Father love you deeply, Val. More than you’ll ever know.” Narcissa said, staring at her son’s lax face. Unbeknownst to her, his spirit was staring at her and tearing up.
“I love you too Mother and Father.” Valerian whispered before he gasped, feeling his magical core shifting and forcefully activating his powers. He watched as the room began to shake softly then intensely, his parents jumping up with their wands in hand to look for a threat that wasn’t there. His spirit slowly started to fade, and Valerian couldn’t help his pained gasp as he completely disappeared, his body finally absorbing his spirit after two years of separation.
“What is going on?!” Lucius shouted in anger and fear, staring at his wife. Narcissa’s eyes, on the other hand, had widened in realisation.
“The Black Family Gift.” She whispered, staring at her son in realisation. Her husband instantly noticed her eyes turning a bright green as she put her hand on their son’s chest, and a green mist came out of her hands and seeped into his body. She removed her hands then and stared at him with the same unnerving eyes.
“What did you do?” Lucius asked, curious but also cautious about what was going on. He’d heard rumours the House of Black’s members were more powerful than they let on, but he hadn’t really believed them until now. He hadn’t known his elegant but fragile wife was capable of such feats of magic before.
Slowly the intense shacking stopped, but the metals in the room started floating around their son. Lucius thought it was accidental levitation magic, but Narcissa knew better, especially since the objects were specifically surrounding the boy and pointed towards them in some way, as if the magic saw the couple as a danger to the body.
The two waited for something to happen with batted breath, and suddenly, their son’s body lurched forward and he sat up. And after dreaming and hoping beyond hope, his eyes finally opened. But instead of the expected soft movement, his eyes snapped open and stared at them unseeingly, as if he was looking beyond them. As opposed to the pewter grey eyes they knew their son normally possessed (a perfect mixture between Narcissa’s silvery-blue eyes, Lucius’s bright blue ones and the normal grey the House of Black was known for), his eyes were an eerie silver, almost white colour. They watched as his raven black hair slowly changed to an ashy blonde colour that was darker than Lucius’s and Narcissa’s.
It was quite the scary sight, as Valerian’s head tilted to the side a bit in apparent curiosity before he stared at them but didn’t seem to recognise who they were.
“Valerian?” Lucius called out quietly, staring his son in the eyes, hoping he’d come to recognise them. Valerian’s head whipped to stare at the man before he blinked a few times and then the metal objects around him fell to the ground and he collapsed back onto the bed.
As Narcissa and Lucius shot towards the boy, they noticed his hair slowly fading back to its natural black and the two breathed out a sigh of relief.
“Val…?” Narcissa whispered as she swept her hand through her elder son’s hair, hoping that the events that had just occurred hadn’t been a one-time thing and that their son was actually awake.
A soft groan came from deep in their son’s throat and his eyes fluttered open slowly, turning to the side to look at his mother.
“M-mother…?” Valerian whispered with a gravelly voice, and the couple couldn’t help laughing in shock as tears fell down his face.
“Valerian….” Lucius called softly, and Valerian’s head turned towards him, causing a bright and rare smile to appear on the blonde man’s face. “Do you know what’s going on?”
“Hmm.” Valerian hummed, collecting his thoughts for a moment before responding. “I’m guessing I woke up from the coma?”
“You knew?!” Narcissa exclaimed in shock and horror. What had her son been through?
“Oh yes. It’s been two years, hasn’t it? I’ve been here the whole time, just as a spirit. You couldn’t see me, but I could see and hear everything.” Valerian explained softly, his voice still rough from lack of moisture and disuse. Lucius, noticing this, gave the boy a cup of water that was sitting at his bedside table. Valerian gratefully gulped it down, but his mother made sure he didn’t drink too fast so his stomach didn’t react negatively, especially since he hadn’t actually eaten or drunk anything in two years, his body surviving on nutrition potions alone.
“I can’t imagine what that must’ve been like….”Narcissa whispered softly, her heart aching for her baby boy.
“It wasn’t so bad. I got to listen to your conversations, read whatever I wanted and studied everything I’d need and so much more. Since I only had access to books, reading and research was the only thing I could do.”
“You could read?” Lucius asked in surprise.
“Yes, apparently the books in our library have a magical aura or essence that allowed me to use them in astral form. It was quite nice, to be honest, although a bit isolating at times.”
“I can imagine. Still, I am glad you’re awake.”
“So am I, Mother.” Valerian smiled at his parents, and they returned the expression with bright grins of their own, squishing him between them in a hug on the bed. At that moment, Valerian felt happy, even if he missed his brother terribly.
He’d get to see him soon.
July 25th 1992
Throughout the week that Valerian had been awake, he’d been getting used to life with a physical body again. He did physical therapy to help heal his atrophied muscles, as recommended by both his mother and a healer, and he started eating small, light meals to get his stomach accustomed to food. His brother’s godfather and the brothers’ honorary uncle, Severus Snape, sent over a crate of potions a week to help Valerian regain full health.
He enjoyed the physical therapy, as it included calm walks with his mother around the manor’s grounds, some stretching and yoga, and even learning martial arts and fencing (skills he’d known by needed to brush up on again after so many years being inactive). He felt his body getting better, and the pain he’d felt upon waking up or when he’d tried to walk for the first time had slowly but surely lessened and almost disappeared.
He also enjoyed sitting instead of floating about, and he finally got to debate the various topics he’d been reading about with his father, the two engaging in many conversations about different things. The family, in general, seemed to be brighter with Valerian’s awakening.
They’d refrained from telling Draco; however, as Valerian had wanted to surprise his brother with his appearance at Platform nine and three quarters. His parents had been reluctant at first, but after Valerian talked it out with them, they’d finally settled down and agreed to his suggestion. He knew they’d be overly protective of him in the coming weeks after his long ordeal, but he hoped with time they’d start trusting him and letting him have more freedom. For now, though, he was just happy to be surrounded with people who saw and talked to him. He’d also missed the House-elves’ cooking and had made sure to emphasize that point multiple times, much to their gratitude and happiness.
All in all, Valerian was happy with life, especially now, as he was getting ready to go pick-up his brother after his first year at Hogwarts. (Valerian hoped he’d finally get to go and experience the school next year, as he’d always dreamed in his astral form.)
He’d been excited to finally get out of his white shirt and black trousers, and had finally realised why Hadrian fussed about his clothes so much. Fashion was fun to experiment with, and he finally had access to a full wardrobe after two years of wearing the same thing.
He was currently wearing a white knitted sweater with beige slacks underneath. He’d also cut his hair so that it reached the middle of his neck but had left the bangs, as he quite liked how they looked when they were parted in the middle and swept to the sides. He stood in front of the fireplace, jumping on the balls of his feet as he waited for his parents to come down.
“Mother! Father! Will you please hurry?! We are going to be late!” Valerian called out, grinning brightly at the fact he could do this and be heard, his grin widened when his father responded.
“We’re coming Val. Just calm down for a moment.” The couple had noticed their son recoiling or flinching when he’d talk and no one would respond, so they made sure that they always responded when they heard his voice and had instilled the same rules on the House-elves, making sure he’d never feel unheard again.
The two walked down hand in hand, wearing elegant robes. While Narcissa’s was a dark navy that was fitted at the top and flared at her waist to accentuate the figure, Lucius’s were a black colour and were open to show his formal suit underneath.
The three soon found themselves at the crowded platform and Valerian couldn’t help looking around at everything in awe, as it was the first time he’d seen it (it was also the first time he’d been out of the manor in two years). He watched as his parents greeted some of their acquaintances that he’d met before, smiling politely whenever someone talked to him and expressing his gratitude at their well-wishes.
The sound of the whistle finally distracted everyone, and Valerian turned to see a giant bright red train slowly coming into the platform. He started getting excited at the prospect of seeing his brother and cousin, and started inching closer to the doors with his parents trailing behind him, fond smiles on their faces but unwilling to let him out of their sight just yet.
Soon enough, the train had stopped and the students started getting off one group at a time.
Valerian stood on his toes, trying to see the distinct platinum blonde head of his brother, a few minutes in, he finally found him and grinned in excitement, already looking forward to his brother’s reaction. Draco started walking towards them after bidding his friends farewell, but he still hadn’t noticed Valerian in the crowd.
“Mother! Father!” Draco exclaimed before suddenly stopping in his tracks as it seemed he’d finally noticed the addition to their group. “Vallie…? How are…?”
“I’m awake and good Dragon. Have been since my birthday. I thought I’d make it a surprise for you…. Is that…?” Valerian started to hesitate at his brother’s frozen state, but he shouldn’t have, as all of a sudden, he found himself with arms full of Draco, who clung to him tightly and started crying into his big brother’s shoulder. Valerian also shed a few tears, happy to finally have his brother in his arms.
“Draco? Are you…?” A voice behind Draco started before trailing off, seeming to realise what was happening. Hadrian was standing behind the duo with his Godfather and was gaping in shock before sprinting forward and crushing the two brothers into a hug, the three happy to be together once more.
“Oh Val…. You’re back!” Hadrian exclaimed, tightening his arms around his cousin in pure happiness. His Godfather smiled fondly at the sight before moving around them to greet the Malfoys, who’d also shed a few tears but knew how to hide their reaction better than their sons.
“I’m glad to see Valerian awake and fine now, Lord and Lady Malfoy.”
“Thank you Mister Lupin.” Narcissa said with a soft smile, a smile the man returned before turning towards his Godson.
“Alright Hades, time to go home. You’ll see your cousins this weekend.”
“Yes Uncle Moony.” The boy said obediently, squeezing his cousins once more before letting them go to leave with his Godfather.
“Oi! Valerie!” Another voice exclaimed in shock, and Hadrian turned to find his best friend, Sebastian Nott, and his childhood friend Wilhelmina Prince walking towards him.
“Mina! Sebbie!” Valerian exclaimed, hugging the two tightly. They talked for a while before the two had to leave with their respective guardians.
Draco; however, was very reluctant to let his brother go again, so he just kept clutching him as they made their way to the floo to go home.
They were finally a complete family. And they couldn’t be happier.
September 1st 1992
It was finally time. Time for him to embark on his Hogwarts journey. After a two year delay and a summer of catching up and making sure he was up-to-standard to join the rest of the third years (and the Deputy Headmistress realising he was actually way above his peers’ education, knowledge and even magic wise), it was finally time for Valerian Malfoy to start his time at Hogwarts.
Standing in front of the Hogwarts Express, he couldn’t help feeling nostalgia for all he’d been through and excitement and nerves for what he’d be experiencing soon.
His parents and brother stood a few meters away, giving him time to absorb and think over everything, a space they realised he needed after two years of being on his own (they hoped Hogwarts wouldn’t be too much for him). He didn’t realise he had zoned out until a body crashed into him. He managed to grab the person by the hand just before they fell to the ground and pulled the body towards him (his instincts had gotten much better after months of martial arts and fencing training, and even his body had gotten taller and retained some muscle as well).
“Oh my god! I’m so sorry!” A soft feminine voice said, and Valerian looked a bit down to realise he’d saved a pretty brunette girl who looked to be his brother’s age.
“It’s alright!” Valerian said, hoping to comfort the girl by giving her a warm smile. “Let me help you with that.”
He’d noticed her trunk was exceptionally heavy and probably the reason she’d fallen so suddenly, so he gestured towards it in question.
“Oh, umm sure….” The girl said, letting Valerian grab her trunk and help her put it into one of the compartments’ storage. She was quite shocked by his strength, but tried not to show it. “Thank you….”
“Valerian.”
“Hermione.”
The two shared a smile before Valerian turned to get back to his parents, he smiled a bit to himself, interested by the girl who was quite pretty but didn’t seem to care about her looks, especially compared to the other pureblood girls he’d met through his parents.
“Hmm, maybe Hogwarts won’t be as bad as Draco keeps saying.”